Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known.
Line-to-line analysis
The first line means that there are roads everywhere, and they go on forever. The second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth lines talk about various places the roads take the traveler to, focusing on the unique character of the landscapes (“By caves where never sun has shone, / By streams that never find the sea”). The fifth and sixth lines talk about the seasons the journey is held on, namely in winter (“over snow”) and summer (“merry flowers of June”). The ninth line is repeating the first line to put emphasis on what the song is about. The tenth line means the traveler has traveled in different conditions, both pleasant, under the starlight, or unfavourable (“under cloud”). The next couple of lines say that the traveler has finished his journeys and is heading home. The thirteenth and fourteenth lines let us know what happened on the journey (fire, sword, horror, halls of stone), and contrast with the last couple of lines, which end the song and talk about the nice sights of home (meadows green, trees and hills).
Commentary
So when did Bilbo compose this work? Why did he create this song? He was either working on it all through the journey in his head, or he composed it on his way home. The song is about how excited Bilbo was in the beginning about going on his first adventure. The first half of the song strongly portrays that feeling. The second half of the song, on the other hand, has a different feel about it. His optimism for going on the journey seems to have vanished and all he really wants to do is to go home. He is tired of it all. This song shows how Bilbo has grown emotionally. He starts the journey as a naïve hobbit who, by the end has really evolved, because of all he has seen and gone through.
Bilbo’s style does not really change through the years. All his songs tell a poignant story that has a lot of emotion inside. It also does not change because he feels comfortable with it, managing to convey his emotions in a powerful manner, and tell a story at the same time.
by ~Stella~
